Washington Nationals Rapid Reaction: Nats Start West Coast Trip On Bad Note

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Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Coming into this ten game road trip, it was well known that the Washington Nationals needed to get off to a good start in what has been considered a make-or-break trip. After beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-3 on Monday night, the Nats did not score a run over the final 19 innings of the series.

It was a tall order to begin with when you go up against two of the best pitchers in the National League in Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw. Unless the Nats make the postseason and see Greinke and Kershaw again, they would have not scored a run against either pitcher in 30 combined innings this season.

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While Bryce Harper was back in the lineup last night after missing Tuesday’s game with a sore left knee, he did not look like his usual self. Harper went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, which came in his last two at-bats of the game.

Despite the loss, Jordan Zimmermann was able to match Kershaw by giving up one run on two hits (both to Carl Crawford), but it would not be enough in the end. Drew Storen would give up a couple insurance runs in the eighth, but Harper and Anthony Rendon had a bad defensive relay, which ended with Rendon throwing the ball out of play and allowing two runners to score.

With the Nats’ back-to-back losses and the Mets having won the first three games of their series against the Rockies, the Nats are 3.5 games back in the NL East with 49 games to go.

Before Stephen Strasburg takes on Ryan Vogelsong tonight when the Nats begin a series against the Giants (10:10 PM ET, MASN + MLB Network), here are my takeaways from last night’s 3-0 loss:

Next: Zimmermann The Unlucky Loser

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Zimmermann The Unlucky Loser

With the Nationals’ loss last night, Jordan Zimmermann has still yet to win a game in the second half this season. While wins are not the only statistic a pitcher should be judged on, Zimmermann has not won a game in his last six starts (3.68 ERA).

Last night, the 29-year-old right-hander went seven innings, gave up one run on two hits, struck out nine (a season-high), and walked one on 93 pitches (71 strikes). Zimmermann showed great control of all his pitches as 18 of the 23 hitters he faced saw first-pitch strikes.

As I mentioned earlier, the only hitter that Zimmermann had struggles with was Carl Crawford. The Dodgers’ left fielder doubled to lead off the first inning, However, he would make a bad baserunning mistake on an Enrique Hernandez ground out as he tried to advance to third after Ian Desmond threw the ball to third. But, Ryan Zimmerman made a good throw and Yunel Escobar applied the tag to get the out.

Two innings later, Joc Pederson would walk to lead off the third and that would come back to bite Zimmermann. With two outs, Crawford took a 0-2 fastball and blooped it into left for a RBI single. He made a half swing, but the reason for that was the umpire called a balk, which ended up giving him a free swing.

Even though Zimmermann was the unlucky loser last night, he seems to have come back to true form. In his last two outings (13.2 innings), he has given up two earned runs on six hits, struck out 15 batters, and walked one. But, in his last four starts, the Nationals have scored seven runs.

Next: Kershaw Shuts Out Nats Again

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Kershaw Dominates Nats Lineup Again

For the second time in less than a month, the Nats’ offense had to go up against Clayton Kershaw and it ended up being the same result. In eight innings of work, Kershaw gave up no runs on three hits, struck out 11, and walked one on 101 pitches (71 strikes). Out of the 27 batters he faced, 23 of them saw a first pitch strikes.

For the first five innings, Kershaw had a perfect game going and the Nats weren’t making much contact against him. He had his fastball and breaking ball working for him all night. According to Brooks Baseball, Kershaw had 38 strikes out of the 50 fastballs he threw and the Nats swung and missed at six of the 23 curveballs he threw.

While Michael Taylor would eventually break up the perfect game with a double in the sixth, the Nationals did not have many chances to score. Kershaw got great defense from Enrique Hernandez on a ground ball by Yunel Escobar in the sixth inning to keep LA in front.

One inning later, Anthony Rendon led off the inning with a single to left. However, Kershaw re-grouped and struck out Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman, and Jayson Werth (all swinging) to end the inning.

Finally, if you go by the game score statistic, Kershaw’s start last night was not as dominant as the one on July 18 when he struck out 14 batters over eight scoreless innings. His game score that day was 90 while his score last night ended up being 84. Still, it was an excellent start for Kershaw.

Next: Taylor Only One To Figure Out Kershaw

Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Taylor Provides Lone Offense

The Nationals only had three hits as a team last night, but two of them came off the bat of Michael Taylor. After Kershaw retired the first 16 batters he faced, Taylor took a first pitch fastball and hit it over the head of Joc Pederson in center and off the wall for a double.

Then, in the eighth inning, Taylor kept that same aggressive approach at the plate and singled to left on the first pitch of the at-bat, a breaking ball. Overall, Taylor went 2-for-3 in the game, but he was unable to get past third base.

This month, Taylor is hitting .250 at the plate (11-for-44) with one home run and seven RBI’s. His seven RBI’s are tied for third on the team with Wilson Ramos. The only two players on the team who have more RBI’s than him are Ian Desmond (8) and Ryan Zimmerman (10).

After hitting six home runs in the first of the season, Taylor has hit four home runs and drove in 16 runs over his last 100 at-bats (.240 batting average). In addition, the 24-year-old center fielder has been able to adjust to hitting out of the number eight spot in the order.

When he bats eighth, Taylor is hitting .258, but has a .322 on-base percentage. Plus, he has 17 runs scored out of that spot in the order. That number is third in the National League behind Nick Ahmed of the Diamondbacks (29) and Adeiny Hechavarria of the Marlins (35).

Next: Zimmermann's Great Start Goes To Waste Against Dodgers

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